My Reason
by RGZ Archer
Summary: No warrior has ever raised their sword without a cause. Why does one fight? Is it for personal gain? Or to protect? This is a series of unrelated oneshots revolving around the cannon characters means no OC's and their reasons. Next up Lark Cyclonis!
1. The Black Knight

My Reason

The Black Knight

Yeah yeah, I know, I shouldn't be working on any more stories, but this one wouldn't leave me alone so I wrote it. Basically it's my view and take on Dark Ace, and my attempt at not only figuring out why he did what he did, but to make him seem more real to me. I guess you could say I'm trying to make him more human, and show how easy it is for someone to make a mistake.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, however I DO own this story.

"Speech"

_Sound_

_Static_

"Demon, monster, murderer. I'm used to hearing such titles on the battlefield, and I guess to a degree, I am those things. That is why I pay no mind to those that call me by such names."

Leaning back in his chair, the man sighed.

"Traitor."

"That too is one I hear often. But unlike the others, I do pay that one mind. I pay it mind because I resent it. I am, and have been many things in my life. A squadron wingman, an apprentice, a General, a hero….and a villain. But I have never once committed treason, and would die long before ever doing so."

Running a hand through his messy black hair, the man shook his head.

"My name? I haven't been called by it for so long that sometimes even I forget it. General is what those who are under me call me, but to those I fight, I am known only as the Dark Ace. A title of my own creation, that will be hated, will be feared, and will be recorded in the books of time for many things,"

"But it also serves a purpose."

_Chuckle_

"People don't even think about it, when they refer to me by it. They think it normal, as though it were my real name since birth; even those who know what my real name is call me by it, rather than by….that name. And it is to those that do so, I thank."

"Why? That is a bit more difficult to explain, but…I shall try."

_Sigh_

"Dark Ace, lead pilot for the Imperial Cyclonian Air Force, and personal body guard of its Grand Ruler. That is what the history book will say. Every act, every deed, and every little thing that I do will be recorded under that name."

"My….true name, my birth name, is listed among those who were the Storm Hawks, the _true_ Storm Hawks. It has attached to it the names of those who had fallen in battle, by the hand of one of their own. To call me by my birth name, is to connect them to me, and thus tarnish their own names. That is why I created the title."

"Dark Ace, the one who was no longer of their ranks, but was an enemy, and who struck them down. It is not much, I know, but it is all I can do for my fallen comrades, to separate myself from them."

_Deep breath_

"I know it seems that I am avoiding the main question at hand, but I felt it was important that I explain that before I continued. My reason for turning against them, is the same reason that I resent being called a traitor."

"A traitor is one who shares a belief with others, but turns on both them, and the belief. Never once have I done such a thing, never."

"Just as they who fell by my sword, I took an oath to protect the people, to safeguard their lives, and insure that no matter what, no matter the costs, they lived. That is why I attacked, and destroyed my squadron."

"The war was….not going in our favor. Master Cyclonis had proved to be more than a match for the Councils greatest strategist, and in only a few short months managed to expand his empire from a single terra, to over two thirds of Atmos. The writing was on the wall so to speak, and it seemed that loss was inevitable."

The man looked up, and his dark red iris's seemed to focus on some nonexistent point far away.

"But then…then he took over. Flight lead, and Sky Knight of the Storm Hawks."

"Under his command, the remaining squadrons gathered together, and united under one banner. A year passed, and nothing changed. Many would think that to be a bad sign, but those people know nothing of war. For a ragtag group of fighters to hold their ground for an entire year against a clearly superior force speaks volumes."

"But…. it is also the reason for my actions. I knew, just by looking at him, that he could, and would turn the war around. I could see the battles that would be fought; I could see the victories that would be won."

"And I could see the lives that would be lost doing so."

"I knew that the war would be won, but it would take many, many years. Lives would be lost on both sides, and many wouldn't even be fighters."

"He was the corner stone, the driving force behind it all. Without him, without the King of the Skies to lead them, the remaining squadrons would quickly be crushed, and the war would be brought to a quick end. Yes, Cyclonia would once again control all of Atmos, but better so than countless lives be lost to stop it."

"So with this in mind, and my oath at heart, I did what I did."

Swallowing, the dark haired man shook his head.

"Before I struck him down, when he looked me in the eye, I didn't see surprise, I didn't see anger. I only saw pity and disappointment. He knew my reasons, but did nothing to stop me."

"After….after the battle, I found out why."

"A secret weapon he had called it, our ace in the hole. I guess….I should have had more faith in him."

"Less than a week after the battle ended, and Master Cyclonis took me under his wing…."

"He died."

"For many years he had battled not only for the throne and control of Atmos, but he had been fighting a sickness which had plagued him since his youth. With no leader, and no ruler, Cyclonia would have fallen apart and collapsed in on itself, allowing the Sky Knights to sweep up the board if you will."

"The daughter? Yes, there was an heir to the throne, but she was only three at the time, and the youngest any ruler had taken the throne was fourteen. Ten years and two months out of her grasp."

"Now, with both sides in disarray and falling to shambles, I again made my decision, to protect the lives of as many I could. Forging the late Master Cyclonis's will, I took control of Cyclonia, as his 'most trusted of advisors' I was to hold the throne until his daughter was of age."

_Dry laugh_

"Even with most of Atmos under my control, I had nothing to work with. Setback after setback and problem after problem prevented me from making the one final push, prevented me from unifying Atmos under one flag. Master Cyclonis it seemed….was not a title for me to ever hold. I knew that, but I had hoped to hold it long enough to complete my mission, to insure that my oath was carried out."

"It….surprised me to no end….that day. To see her, the young girl whom I had looked after, and trained as if she were my own daughter, enter into the throne room in her grandmothers regalia, hold out her hand and take her fathers scepter from its hold."

Blinking, the man looked upwards with a small, content smile.

"It…was probably…the saddest day of my life. It only hit me just then what I had done. Only then had I realized the consequences of my actions. In my quest to bring the war to a quick end, I had prolonged it. Ten years, and two months. I was no longer eighteen, she was no longer three, and the Council…had reclaimed nearly a fourth of their former territory. The tides, while still against them, but they were no longer unconquerable."

"In the time that I spent trying to hold together a crumbling empire, they had seized a foothold, and begun to push back."

Closing his eyes, the man clinched his fist.

"So in the same breath that I swore my loyalty to her, I requested that command of her forces be given to me. I had hoped...that I could snuff out these embers of resistance out before they could grow."

Dark Ace shakes his head.

"But in the end, it seems that the only thing I had done was fan them into a wildfire, a wildfire that would grow and spread throughout Atmos."

"I guess that….I was never meant to be the one who brought the war to an end….I was never meant to be the one who unified Atmos."

"If only…if only I had waited…for just a little while longer…things would have been so different…the war would have ended so much sooner."

"If….if you are listening to this…whoever you are….I ask that you not speak of this to anyone. I only ask that you learn form my mistake, and that you not repeat it yourself."

_Chuckle_

"I know it sounds strange….but if you wish to know my reasons for making this, I will tell you…."

"I…..desire for….I desire that at least one person know the truth. I want for there to be someone to remember me as the person I really was, and not as the person that history will paint me as."

_Static_

With a sigh, Dark Ace sets the messenger crystal onto his desk and allows his face to fall into his hands.

"Sir! Enemy forces are approaching! What are your orders?"

Dark Ace ran his fingers down his face as he turns to the Talon with a scowl.

"My orders? An enemy force is approaching and you await my orders? What do you think my orders are?! I want every available Talon in the sky now!"

Rising, the man grabs his sword and slings it into his back harness, and picks up his helmet. Casting one last look at the crystal, he walks out of the door with a stone like countenance.

End Chapter.

AN: I thought about adding another line after that, but I decided it was too cliché and left it out. I know I have a lot of other stories that I'm working on right now, but this one has been running around in my head for a while. Besides, if I'm going to write Storm Hawks stories, I need to practice with Dark Ace. This way, I'm not the only one who benefits eh?

Please leave a review, I might come back to this story and add more chapters, but if I do it wont be any more Dark Ace, it will be someone else.

Till next time, Ja Ne!


	2. The Monster

My Reason

Monster

Well, time for me to pluck the ol heart strings again. This time around it's Lark that gets to tell her story. This was a very hard chapter for me to write because A: I'm a dude, and we have no idea how the female mind works, it's mysterious and quite frankly, scary to us. B: I wanted to make this as cold as possible. My assessment of Lark is that she is cold and calculating, but at the same time, she's not totally incapable of feeling, so I had to make it a mix of cold confusion.

Oh, and in this story, she's twenty four. I got that number form the episode with the Oracle stone, since it was foretold that Cyclonia would win the war in ten years. She's fourteen now in the current series, so you do the math. Also, any part that's not in quotation marks (meaning it's spoken, or in this case, thought) try to imagine the sound of three people walking down the hallway of an empty school, that's the sound I was going for.

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, and never will. They are the property of Asaph "Ace" Fipke and made by Nerd Corps Entertainment, however I DO own this story.

"Thought"

_Sound_

Three figures walked the dimly lit hallway. The one in the center was noticeably shorter than the others, but at the same time, it carried an air of authority that made it actually seem taller.

The three spoke not a word, nor did they make a sound. The only noise that could be heard was the echoing of their footsteps on the cold stone floor. Each held their gaze ahead and level, not looking to the side, not looking around, not even looking at one another, only straight ahead.

"My name is Lark Cyclonis, and I have done many terrible things."

The young woman's face was cold, devoid of any emotion as she walked down the expansive crystal lit hallway.

"For the last ten years, I have followed in my father's footsteps by continuing the war with the terra's of Free Atmos, which he began twenty years ago today."

The three came to a stop at a set of large wooden doors with two guards. The man to her left saluted the two men before turning around and leaving with the other man who had accompanied her, while the other two opened the doors and continued down the dimly lit hall with her.

"I have been called many things in my life. A demon, a sorceress, a creature of Oblivion, and a monster. I guess that Sorceress would be an adequate enough title, given my powers. But I am not a creature, nor am I a demon. A monster however, yes, I am a monster. That is something I have come to accept in my life."

The young woman closed her eyes for a second, but continued her march with the two men flanking her sides. None of the three seemed to notice the single tear that fell from her eye, not even the one who shed it.

"A Sorceress, is a woman who invokes powers beyond what is understood. I was trained in many things by my grandmother, and how to harness the powers of crystals was but one of them. So I find no fault with that name, as it, and I are one and the same. But a demon, or a creature of Oblivion, are completely different from a monster, and thus completely different from me."

"A creature, such as the Spiny toothed horn sloth of terra deep is truly a frightening thing to behold, but it is not a monster. Also, while I am unsure if there is actually anything native to the realm of Oblivion, am I positive that I would have nothing more in common with it, other than at most, basic composition. A monster on the other hand, I have much in common with."

The woman took a deep breath as she continued down the hall. Memories from long ago flashed to the forefront of her mind, but she dismissed these as quickly as the steps she was taking.

"Not many know the difference between a creature of fright, and a monster, but I do, I know because I am one, and because I have dealt with monsters for almost my entire life."

"A creature, no matter its appearance, is a creature. That is because it was born as such. But a monster? A monster is not born, a monster is _created_. Therein lays the difference between the two. A creature can only be created by two of its own species, but a monster can be made by anyone, from anything, and that is exactly what I am."

"The blood that flows through my veins, is no different than that of any other human. If you were to strip away every scrap of clothing from my body, you would see no difference between myself and any other human female. My hair is made of keratin, just like anyone else; my skin looks the same to the eyes, and feels the same to touch, just the same as anyone else. I have two eyes that see, two ears that hear, a nose that smells, a mouth that speaks, two arms to hold with, two legs to run with, ten fingers that hold and ten toes to stand, just like anyone else. This is because I was born a human."

"A human however, I was not allowed to remain. A normal life, I was not allowed to have. My mother died in childbirth, so I only had my….father, a man who wanted nothing to do with me. He wanted a son, an heir to take the throne after he died, a male to lead his nation, and unite all of Atmos under his family's crest as it had been so long ago. What he got, was me instead, a human daughter."

"But as I said, I am not a human, not anymore. I was born a human, but made into a monster. What does it take to create a monster you ask? It's a simple recipe really, one that my father taught me when I was very young. It takes thirty five liters of water, twenty kilograms of carbon, four liters of ammonia, one point five kilograms of lime, eight hundred grams of phosphorous, two hundred and fifty grams of sodium, one hundred grams of niter, eighty grams of sulfur, seven point five grams of fluorine, five grams of iron, three grams of silicon, and less than one gram of fifteen other elements. All things that can be bought at a local market with pocket change, that's all it takes to create a monster, that's all that I am."

"To this day, I am unsure if he even knew that I was a girl. Never once did he say anything to prove that he did, nor did he ever say anything to show that he cared. I remember very little of him, since he died when I was so young, but to this day, I still remember what he put me through. The training, the lectures, the endless drills of combat and politics."

"Most children, when they are five, are only afraid of their parents spanking them if they misbehave, but me? If my father was displeased, I went without food, locked in my room for up to a week. After that, my training would be doubled for a month, and that was if he was in a generous mood at the time. Never once was I taught how to speak to people as anything more than dogs, never once was I taught how to dance, and I never once had a single friend. The closest thing I had was my grandmother, the previous Master Cyclonis before my father took the throne. Though she was still powerful, she had no way of getting me away from her son. He sat on the throne now, and she was but his advisor. Without her, I probably would have become just like him, cold, ruthless, heartless, and devoid of any emotion."

"Instead, I became what I am today. I am cold, but at the same time I can feel it, I send people into battle by the thousands knowing full well that there is little if any chance that any of them would be returning, but I feel guilt for doing so, I have a heart, but I can't hear it, and I have emotions, I can hear them, but I don't understand their language. I am a monster, but I am still human. If this makes me better, or worse, I still don't know. A monster does horrible things, as do I, but does a monster feel pain? Is the pain that I feel what makes me human? Or is it what makes me a monster?"

The three reached yet another set of doors. These were much larger than any of the others she had passed through on her journey, but she looked upon them in the same manner as though they were any other set of doors she had passed through in her life, even though she knew what lay behind them, nobody who saw her would have known.

"My grandmother died when I was eight, and my father soon followed in that same year. I was heir to the throne, but I was still six years too young to take it, so the one known as Dark Ace, a former Sky Knight Squadron member, stepped up with a will, claiming that he was to hold the throne in trust, until I came of age. For six years, he sat on my family's throne, something that had never happened before, but in that time, my life only improved marginally. True, I no longer had to worry about punishments as severe as my fathers had been, but that was the only improvement. Everyday I had lessons; everyday for me was one combat drill after another, one lecture on military tactics after another. The scant free time I had, I spent poring over my grandmother's journals, immersing myself into the world of crystals, my one, and only escape."

"But that was long ago, a lifetime ago, and no longer of any concern to me."

"I have seen to the construction of countless war machines, and built many weapons that could cause destruction on a scale never before dreamed by man. With a single order, I have watched entire terra's be burned to the ground, destroyed entire cultures, and decimated the face of this world. I have caused the deaths of countless people, young, old, warrior, soldier, and citizen alike, but to me, they're all the same. They are but faceless multitudes that I never spoke to, never met, or even seen in person."

"My name is Lark Cyclonis, and I have done many terrible things, but perhaps the most terrible of them all."

The two guards opened the doors before her, and grabbed her by the arms before guiding her to the podium in the center of the room. Taking a brief moment, the young woman scanned her surroundings, and saw the many who were seated around her, who surrounded her. Young, old, human, merb, blizzarian, wallop, all wore expressions of anger, all had eyes that burned with barely contained hatred.

She did note however, a single pair of crystal blue eyes that held more grief and sadness than she had ever seen before, a pair of eyes that belonged to the one person in her entire life she had considered a friend.

"Is that I have absolutely no regrets."

End Chapter.

An: I gave a lot of thought to this chapter, and wanted to make it more cannon that my previous one, but had a difficult time doing so. The information provided states that Dark Ace betrayed the Storm Hawks ten years prior to the series beginning, and that the previous Master Cyclonis died around the same time. The information I have on the hologram from the episode: 5 Days, states that the woman with Lark was her _grandmother_ not her mother. Also I have yet to see the episode, so I don't know how old she looked. I did my best to piece together a feasible and plausible timeline, even though it does conflict with the previous chapter by a factor of five years, it's the best I could do. I hope it was endurable. Like I said last time, I'll visit this story from time to time, but not as frequently as my other works. This is where I come to blow off any emo steam in my system. Anyways, hope you liked it, and please review!


End file.
